Romanian Gymnastics at World Championships

Worlds: Romanian Gymnastics Fan Postcard from Aarhus                        
In the first event World championships in gymnastics, with only having a team from which not much was expected, the red-yellow-and-blues were only fighting themselves (the Chinese were out of reach anyway).


Worlds: A Romanian Gymnastics Fan at World Gymnastics Championships
 Andrew Kerr, Atlanta, USA, www.kingpigeon.com
      I know the results for Romania were not as high flying as one would have dreamed (a fourth place women's team finish is rough), but I think the women made an excellent debut for a fresh team. If they can get a little more depth, they'll totally rock. As for Dragulescu, man, what a credit he is to gymnastics; a real Romanian national treasure.      
    Three things were clear to me at the event:
1) The Romanians are the proudest gymnastics fans on earth (evident in part from the giant flag -see photo at right by Andrew Kerr- draped against the wall behind the balance beam)*
[*nice to hear that, it's our Project]
2) Marian Dragulescu is Romania's gymnastics MVP bar none, and
3) while coming up short of (probably what were always over-inflated) expectations, the women's team shows great promise.

[Oct 26] Fans greetings for the Romanian gymnastics team

     Even though you are rebuilding the program - stay positive and bring on the gold in 2008.
     Good work :) Smile Sandra you achieved lots!
     Well done girls, and coaches.
      Rachel



    Hello Romanian team!

    I'd like to tell you that I enjoyed your achievements at the WC Aarhus very much. I wish I was such a great gymnast!

   To be with you in the same hotel at the sixth floor was very nice also. All of my teammates were jealous! And I was very surprised that you eat that much Nutella at breakfast! Is that your secret? Then I'm going to eat it too!

    I wrote a story about our visit to Aarhus on the website of my gymclub (www.kdoapeldoorn.nl) with a picture of me and the female team. I invite you to visit this page and write a message in our guestbook.
    I surely will visit Amsterdam to support you all at the European Championships in april! See you there, and I wish you all the best!
    Your fan
    Kirsten Klaassen
    from Holland

[Oct 21] Worlds: Tweddle sparks drama as China dominate
Guardian Unlimited - UK
   Along with Tweddle, Marian Dragulescu became the only non-Chinese athlete to taste victory on Friday.
   Dragulescu picked up Romania's first gold medal here when he tumbled to glory on the floor exercise. He scored 16.250 with a series of complex twists and soaring somersaults, eclipsing defending champion Diego Hypolito and Olympic gold medallist Kyle Shewfelt.
   "I'm glad that I'm still the number one on the floor," Dragulescu said after clinching his third world title on the mat following his successes in 2001 and 2002.

[Oct 21] Worlds:  Gold for teen Ferrari at worlds
Peninsula On-line - Qatar
    AARHUS, Denmark • European champion Vanessa Ferrari spoiled Chinese hopes of a title sweep at the world gymnastics championships here yesterday when she snatched Italy’s first ever women’s world title by winning the all-around gold.
     Sandra Izbasa, meanwhile, gave Romania their first medal of the championship after the Olympic women’s team champions failed to medal in that event for the first time in 25 years. “I didn’t expect to win this medal but I’m sure the Romanian team will come back,” she said.
    Romanian team coach Nicolae Forminte insisted that his team were in the rebuilding process. “The last time we didn’t win a medal it was a selection problem. This time Romania was able to come with six gymnasts for six because the others didn’t have the age to compete,” said Forminte.

[Oct 21] Worlds: Chen, Cheng and Xiao add to Chinese gold rush at worlds
Turkish Press - Plymouth,MI,USA
   Chinese gymnasts reaped more gold at the world championships, claiming another three titles to bring their haul to six out of nine so far.
   "It's because the team preparation has been so good. We always had quality but to be winners you need to perform consistently. You need to be stable as a team for success and we had that now."
     Marian Dragulescu, 26, the 2004 Olympic silver medallist and 2001 and 2002 world champion on floor, took gold ahead of defending champion Diego Hypolito of Brazil.

[Oct 21] Worlds: Romania's Marian Dragulescu tumbles to glory
Reuters Canada - Toronto,Ontario,Canada
   AARHUS, Denmark (Reuters) - Marian Dragulescu picked up Romania's first gold medal at the world gymnastics championships on Friday when he tumbled to glory on the floor exercise. Dragulescu earned a score of 16.250 with a series of complex twists and soaring somersaults, eclipsing defending champion Diego Hypolito and Olympic gold medalist Kyle Shewfelt.

[Oct 20] Worlds: Nicoale Forminte about falling and...still winning at Worlds
    Romanian gymnastics team main coach Nicolae Forminte made these statements earlier today for www.romanian-gymnastics.com (about Ferrari's AA *victory*-see also above article and statements):
   "It's very dangerous to change the spirit of competition; it's not the gymnast's fault; I respect her work and efforts.
    The problem was created by those which have decided that; if a gymnast who falls, win the AA title at Worlds Gymnastics Championships, it will be very difficult for us in future to demand to our gymnasts to execute correctly.
   We may come close to a moment where we shall...beat each others in fallings, not in clean executed routines!" - Nicolae Forminte

[Oct 20] Worlds: Romania coach fumes at Ferrari victory
    AARHUS, Denmark, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Romanian coach Nicolae Forminte lashed out at the judges at the world gymnastics championships after Vanessa Ferrari was declared the winner of the women's all-round contest despite falling off the beam.
   "Apparently you have to fall off an apparatus in order to become world champion. It's laughable," he told reporters on Thursday. "In the whole history of gymnastics, it never happened that a gymnast who falls won the world title."
    He later went up to silver medallist Jana Bieger of the United States at the news conference and told her "You should sit in the middle" pointing to the winner's chair. The 16-year-old smiled at the suggestion and shrugged it...

[Oct 20] Worlds: A Ferrari Takes Gold in World Gymnastics
Washington Post - United States
   Romanian Sandra Raluca Izbasa won a surprise bronze in the women's all-around and made up for her country's first shutout at worlds in the team event since 1981.
   "Chellsie Memmel and Nastia are still the best in the country," Andrea Bieger said. "So, this is an amazing thing for us. With Jana, I think it shows we've got three girls who can make a part of a very, very great team."

[Oct 20] Worlds:  Nicolae Forminte has congratulated China's coach
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China
  ...After the finals, Nicolae Forminte came up to Lu Shanzhen, Chinese women's team coach, to congratulate him over China's first ever title. "You were strong on some of the apparatus, but you are strong on all apparatus this time. You did a good job on this," said Forminte to Lu.
[romanian-gymnastics.com : a nice gesture, a new, better attitude at team]

[Oct 20] Worlds: Romania coach fumes at Ferrari victory
    AARHUS, Denmark, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Romanian coach Nicolae Forminte lashed out at the judges at the world gymnastics championships after Vanessa Ferrari was declared the winner of the women's all-round contest despite falling off the beam.
   "Apparently you have to fall off an apparatus in order to become world champion. It's laughable," he told reporters on Thursday. "In the whole history of gymnastics, it never happened that a gymnast who falls won the world title."
    He later went up to silver medallist Jana Bieger of the United States at the news conference and told her "You should sit in the middle" pointing to the winner's chair. The 16-year-old smiled at the suggestion and shrugged it...

[Oct 20] Italian Ferrari grasps the women's all-around at gymnastics worlds
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China
    Italian teenager Vanessa Ferrari stunned the women's all-around competition to win her first world title at Aarhus gymnastics world championships in Denmark on Thursday.
    Ferrari, 16, overcame her drop from the beam to demonstrate a superb floor exercise routine in her last discipline to win by 61.025 points. She finished second in the qualifiers behind defending champion Chellsie Memmel.
    Jana Bieger, a member U.S. squad in 2005 Melbourne worlds, finished second with 60.750 points, and Romanian Sandra Raluca Izbasa was third with 60.250 points.

[Oct 19] Worlds: IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please note that the apparatus finals October 21 start at 2.30 pm instead of 3.00 pm as indicated earlier.

[Oct 19] Worlds: Romania miss medals for the first time in 25 years
   AARHUS, Denmark, (Reuters) - Olympic champions Romania failed to win a women's team medal for the first time in 25 years at the world gymnastics championships on Wednesday.
   With a new coach and an inexperienced team, Romania finished fourth behind China, the United States and Russia after winning five of the last six world championships and the last two Olympic titles.
    The last time Romania missed out on a top three finish was at the 1981 Moscow world championships. "Every nation has ups and downs, and my duty is to drag Romania's wagon up the hill," said coach Nicolae Forminte. "I will do it for sure, we need just a little patience."
     Forminte took the helm when controversial long-time coaches Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang resigned last year after being accused of demanding cuts from gymnasts' prize money.
      "Romania's team is in reconstruction," Forminte said. "This was the most difficult year. But we have great juniors who will have the right to compete beginning next year and Romania's team will surely look different."
 Specialist's predictions: Romanian gymnastics at Worlds Chships
# RIGHT:  Roxana Toma (Sport Total):   -WAG team: 4 place;
 # WRONG & STUPID: "The Romanian gymnastics team is not expected to catch one of the 8 places in team finals, according to the former Romanian coach, Adrian Stan [which now works for British Gymnastics].
     His statistics is based on latest contests where the team has competed. Team main coach Forminte does not believe in such predictions, because at those contests (in UK, Spain) only few members of the World Romanian gymnastics team have had competed."  

The Most Beautiful Birthday present for Coach Nicolae Forminte:
Romanian gymnastics team will compete in finals at Worlds
  Bravo, Romania!

 World Gymnastics Championships WAG results, click here

[Oct 15] Worlds: World Gymnastics Championships photos

World Gymnastics Championships photos: Rompres photos, click here
World Gymnastics Championships photos: Yahoo photo Gallery, click here
World Gymnastics Championships photos: Minkus images, click here
World Gymnastics Championships photos: USA team, click here
World Gymnastics Championships photos: Getty Images, click here
World Gymnastics Championships photos: Mediafax photos, click here
Slideshow: Gymnastics World Championships
World Gymnastics Championships 2006 photos: Xinhua photos, click here
World Gymnastics Championships 2006 photos: Sing Lo photos, here
World Gymnastics Championships 2006 photos: Sing Lo 2nd Gallery
World Gymnastics Championships 2006 photos: Tom Theobald photos

 Worlds Gymnastics Champhionships MAG results, click here

  World Gymnastics Championships at TVR2

[Oct 10] Worlds: Comaneci says inexperience no bar to Romania
BUCHAREST, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Lack of experience will be no handicap for Romania's female gymnasts at the world championships, former Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci says. Romania's depth of talent meant the team would be capable of fighting favourites the United States for the team gold in Aarhus, Denmark, where the championships open on Friday, Comaneci said.      "Something tells me that despite its lack of experience, Romania will be again the strongest opponent of the United States in their fierce fight for the world gold," Comaneci told reporters this week.
    "I'm fully confident that this team can shine in Aarhus as successive Romanian teams did on so many previous occasions. Even second place after the United States, who are very strong now, would mean a great win for Romania," said Comaneci, who won five Olympic gold medals at the 1976 and 1980 Games.
      "It is not a secret that I play for my career at these worlds," said Forminte who has had to adopt a new approach to training after complaints about the iron discipline imposed by Belu and Bitang. "My strategy is to cooperate with my girls not to impose endless efforts during hard training at any price," he said.

[Oct 7] Fans greetings for the Romanian gymnastics team
Dear Romanian Gymnastics Team,
I just want to say "Noroc" to you. I know you will do fine. You are my favorite team. Good luck and have fun, too !!!.
Javier Corona. Guadalajara, Mexico.

Wishing the 2006 Team a GOLDEN World Championships! Noroc!
>From your #1 Fan!
Tom Crews

These are just few of the latest messages received.

[Oct 4] Specialist's predictions: Romanian gymnastics at Worlds Chships
   Top Romanian sport journalists have predicted exclusively for
www.romanian-gymnastics.com the possible result of Romanian WAG team (only the women team) at Worlds Championships 2006...
 
[Oct 6] General information on the 2006 World Gymnastics Championships
SFCPressPoint (press release) - Tampa,FL,USA
What: The 2006 World Championships features competition in the team, all-around and individual apparatus (men—floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar; women – vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise).
Where: NRGi Arena, Aarhus, Denmark
When: Oct. 14-21, 2006
Competition format: There is competition in team, all-around and the individual apparatus. For the team competitions, here’s the format: preliminaries, five gymnasts on each apparatus and top four scores count; and finals, three gymnasts compete and all three scores count. The top eight countries after the prelims advance to the team finals. For the all-around, the top 24 gymnasts (maximum of two per country) in the prelims advance to the finals. For individual event finals, the top eight from the preliminary rounds (maximum of two per country) advance to the finals.
 World Championships Programme

[Oct 4] Gymnastics teams hope to place among world's 24
Bucharest Daily News - Bucharest,Romania
   The president of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, Adrian Stoica said on Wednesday that the main objective for this month's World Championships is that the teams obtain a direct qualification for next year's competition.
   According to the president of the federation, the established objective was determined by the fact that Romania will participate in the championships with a young, totally renewed women's team, which has not participated in a world competition before and with a men's team that lacks three members who have obtained world gold medals. "We expect a medal from Sandra Izbasa and Steliana Nistor, so also one or two medals," Stoica said.

[Oct 4] Specialist's predictions: Romanian gymnastics at Worlds Chships
   Top Romanian sport journalists have predicted exclusively for
www.romanian-gymnastics.com the possible result of Romanian WAG team (only the women team) at Worlds Championships 2006...

[Oct 2] Romanian gymnastics team at Worlds Championships
    Romanian gymnastics team to compete at Worlds Championships: Elena Chiric, Dana Druncea, Sandra Izbasa, Floarea Leonida, Steliana Nistor and Loredana Sucar (WAG).

  Photo:
Romanian gymnastics team posing for their fans, Monday evening in Deva;
exclusive photo for
romanian-gymnastics.com


  The team will leave Deva Friday morning and Sunday will take the plane to Denmark.

[Sep 25] New Romania team ready for world championships debut
Reuters.uk - UK
   BUCHAREST- Sixteen-year-old Sandra Izbasa, European champion in the floor exercise, will lead a new Romania team at next month's gymnastics world championships in Denmark, team coach Nicolae Forminte said on Monday.    The six-member team does not include a single athlete from the last Olympic Games in Athens, where Romania captured gold in the team event. At the weekend, Izbasa won the national titles on floor, balance beam and vault, while Steliana Nistor, 17, won the asymmetric bars.
    "Romania will fight for the team title at the worlds but it will be not a disaster if we do not win," Forminte told Reuters. "We want to accumulate experience." Dana Druncea, Elena Chiric, Loredana Sucar, all 16, and Floarea Leonida, 19, complete the squad for the world championships in Aarhus, from Oct. 13 to 21.

            World Gymnastics Championships Programme

Romanian Gymnastics News Archive.